Leftovers

• Hardware

  • The Next Platform ☛ GPU Transitions, Aggressive Server Pricing Squeeze HPE Profits [Ed: At least they say "GPU" and not something like "hey hi chips"]

    Dell saw a sequential slump in server sales its most recent quarter as customers were awaiting access to systems using Nvidia’s “Blackwell” GPUs, and rival Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a similar issue when it turns in its first quarter of fiscal 2025, which ended in early February.

  • Peter 'CzP' Czanik ☛ Zsolt Audio Turns 40 This Year

    Last weekend, I was welcomed to a special event in an industrial area of Budapest. Zsolt Audio – one of the best known high-end audio manufacturers in Hungary – turns 40 this year, and Zsolt Huszti, the founder, started a series of events celebrating this in the showroom next to his “factory”. We listened to some fun stories from the past 40 years, and also to music on some of his latest devices.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • NYPost ☛ Missouri judge finds Chinese government liable for $24B in damages for ‘hoarding’ protective equipment during COVID pandemic

    “We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said.

  • New York Times ☛ U.S. Judge Finds China Liable for Covid Missteps, Imposes $24 Billion Penalty

    The judgment was issued in a case brought by the Missouri attorney general. The Chinese government did not respond to the claims in court.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Former Hospital Authority exec. convicted of stealing from supermarket denied chance to appeal at top court

    A former Hospital Authority (HA) executive and her husband, who were convicted of stealing from a supermarket two years ago, have been denied a chance to appeal at the city’s top court.

• Proprietary

  • Security Week ☛ Microsoft Says One Million Devices Impacted by Infostealer Campaign [Ed: Microsoft is the culprit, not the expert, but the media likes to pretend otherwise while selling ads for Microsoft]

    Microsoft has uncovered a malvertising campaign that redirected users to information stealers hosted on Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub.

  • Social Control Media

    • Jon Udell ☛ Making the Fediverse More Accessible With Claude 3.7 Sonnet

      A few years ago I abandoned Ex-Twitter in favor of Mastodon. Recent events validate that choice and underscore the strategic importance of a decentralized fediverse that can’t be owned by a single corporate or state actor. But while Mastodon meets my needs, much of the Ex-Twitter diaspora has gone to Bluesky.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • New York Times ☛ France’s Ex-Intelligence Chief Convicted in Influence Peddling Trial Involving LVMH

      Bernard Squarcini was found guilty of organizing a bizarre illegal surveillance operation on a gadfly journalist at the request of the luxury company, among other offenses.

• Defence/Aggression

  • CS Monitor ☛ Kenyan troops gave Haitians hope for security. Have they delivered?

    As gang violence spreads in Haiti, locals say a Kenya-led U.N. security force in support of local police is not delivering the peace they crave.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines says to sign troops pact with Canada as defence ties deepen

    The Philippines and Canada are set to sign a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) after negotiations aimed at enhancing defence and security cooperation between the two nations, Manila's defence ministry said on Friday.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man is ‘doing a Mao Zedong’ on the US

    Our expert guest speaker draws parallels with the chaotic Cultural Revolution in China in 1966.

  • New York Times ☛ More Than 140 Killed in Clashes Between Syrian Forces and Assad Loyalists

    Two days of fighting along the Mediterranean coast were among the bloodiest battles since rebels ousted the dictator Bashar al-Assad.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli army says it struck Hezbollah 'military sites' in southern Lebanon

    The Israeli army said Friday that it launched strikes on "military sites" in southern Lebanon, where it said there were "weapons and rocket launchers" belonging to Hezbollah.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Atlantic Council ☛ What Convicted Felon’s approach to Europe means for the Western Balkans

      Shifts in US policy toward Europe could prompt the EU to step up on security for the Western Balkans and revive the enlargement process.

    • Latvia ☛ Telecoms quality in Latvian border area raises security concerns

      The quality and availability of mobile and internet connections in Latvia's border area do not create a sense of security. The countryside and the border may become a blank zone if the white spots in broadcasting within Latvia do not improve, Latvian Radio reported on March 6.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • Defence Web ☛ Crime Intelligence under fire over concerns of repeated instability, corruption, and leaks

    The Portfolio Committee on Police convened on 05 March 2025 to address growing concerns over instability, corruption, and operational failures within the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence division.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Climate Change Made South Sudan Heat Wave More Likely, Study Finds

    Years of war and food insecurity in the region made the extreme heat especially dangerous.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Security Week ☛ US Seize Garantex in Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Bust

      Two men linked to Garantex are accused of facilitating multi-billion dollar money laundering and sanctions violations.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Thai Airways, AirAsia impose restrictions on in-flight use of power banks

      The move comes as several international airlines have also implemented stricter measures.

    • Pro Publica ☛ How a Connecticut DMV Employee Made Thousands by Selling Towed Cars

    • Pro Publica ☛ HUD Considers Crypto Experiment With Blockchain, Stablecoin

      The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering taking a first step to using cryptocurrency, according to a meeting recording and other materials reviewed by ProPublica and three officials familiar with the matter. Two officials told ProPublica they believe the initiative may be a trial run for the use of crypto across the federal government.

      The discussions have sparked concern among some at the department, especially about the prospect of paying recipients of major federal grants in cryptocurrency, an uninsured digital asset associated with financial speculation, dramatic swings in value and transnational crime.

    • New York Times ☛ Is Surveillance Giant Google Search Cooked? + We’re Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You’re Vibecoding

      “I think Surveillance Giant Google realizes that this is a once-in-a-generation chance to reinvent the search experience”

• Finance

  • Atlantic Council ☛ Charting the path for women’s economic security in the G20

    For International Women's Day this year, here are five charts about gender gaps in the G20. Closing these gaps would boost economic benefits for everyone.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong may ‘improve’ security laws after top court agrees Tiananmen vigil trio did not receive fair trial

    The Hong Kong government has said it will study how to “improve” national security legislation after the city’s top court quashed the convictions of three Tiananmen vigil activists.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Joins Nearly 20 Groups Urging FCC Chairman Carr To Defend Free Expression, Media Freedom

    Today, Public Knowledge joined 17 other public interest, trade associations, and civil liberties groups in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to defend free speech and media freedom.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ US judge blocks Convicted Felon from firing federal labor board chair

    US Federal Judge Beryl Howell ordered on Thursday the reinstatement of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chair Gwynne Wilcox accompanied by harsh words for The Insurrectionist. Wilcox filed a lawsuit against the Convicted Felon administration in February alleging that her removal was unlawful.

  • JURIST ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man administration drops Biden lawsuit against Idaho emergency abortion ban

    US President The Insurrectionist’s administration filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by Biden’s administration against Idaho’s near-total abortion ban on Wednesday. 

  • Digital Music News ☛ US Government Responds to Accusations of Racism Targeting Diddy — “Outrageous and Illogical”

    The US government responds to Diddy’s accusations of racism as he tries to get the charges against him dismissed. As his court date draws near, Sean “Diddy” Combs and his legal team hope to have charges against him dismissed on the basis that the law itself is “racist.”

  • Federal News Network ☛ White House looks to hold litigants financially responsible for filing lawsuits against the government

    Dihydroxyacetone Man's new memo tells agencies to use the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) to ask the federal courts to hold litigants accountable for their lawsuits.

  • Federal News Network ☛ DHS moves to end collective bargaining for TSA officers

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is ending collective bargaining at TSA and seeking to prevent future administrations from granting union rights to TSOs.

  • Public Knowledge ☛ Continuing the Attack on DEI: The Comcast “Investigation” [Ed: So says a Microsoft-infiltrated body]

    The FCC Chairman’s investigation into DEI programs marks a significant reversal on decades-old telecoms policy.

  • Michael Geist ☛ When Words Fail: Reflections on the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism

    I was pleased to attend the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism in Ottawa yesterday.

  • France24 ☛ Women's Day: Fighting sexism from an early age with stories of female role models

    "Stories of sportswomen, adventurers, astronauts…” Céline Steyer is on a mission: to rewrite the narrative for the next generation. Through her podcast and book “Nouvelles Héroïnes”, she tells the true stories of women to help girls believe in themselves and inspire boys to see them as equals.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • APNIC ☛ Updates on APNIC 60, APNIC 62, and APRICOT 2026

    APRICOT 2026 will be hosted by Jakarta, Indonesia and APNIC 62 by Mumbai, India.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • Digital Music News ☛ IMPALA Confirms — and Fires Back Against — Amazon Music’s ‘Artist-Centric’ Minimum-Play Thresholds

    New details are emerging about Amazon Music’s “artist-centric” recalibration, which, like its Spotify counterpart, includes minimum-play thresholds before uploads can begin accruing royalties. Brussels-based IMPALA fired back against the thresholds today, after Amazon Music unveiled an “artist-centric” Universal Music deal late last year.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• New York Times ☛ DOJ Reinforces Demand to Break Up Google’s Search Monopoly

  In a court filing on Friday, the government signaled a continuation of tough regulatory pressure on the search giant.

• Digital Music News ☛ StubHub Hackers Busted After Banking $600,000 in Pure Profit on Stolen Taylor Swift Tickets

  Two individuals have been arrested for their role in the cybercrime theft of over 900 concert tickets, most for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. District Attorney Melinda Katz in Queens, NY announced this week that two individuals have been arrested and arraigned in connection with the cybercrime theft of over 900 concert tickets.

• Patents

  • Federal Circuit Confirms AliveCor Patents Invalid, ITC Case Moot

    Quite some time back, the USITC found that Apple’s Watch had infringed a set of ECG patents. During the pendency of the ITC case, Fashion Company Apple filed a set of inter partes review petitions alleging invalidity of the AliveCor patents-in-suit. The ITC ultimately found that the Watch infringed valid patents and issued an exclusion order.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Back to the Classics: Importing Limitations from the Specification into the Claims

    The fine line between construing claims in light of the specification and improperly importing limitations from the specification represents one of patent monopoly law's most persistent interpretive challenges. The Federal Circuit in Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc) established that while claims "must be read in view of the specification," courts must avoid "reading a limitation from the specification into the claim" absent express definition (lexicography) or disavowal.

    In IQRIS Technologies LLC v. Point Blank Enterprises, Inc., 2023-2062 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 7, 2025), the Federal Circuit has vacated and remanded a S.D. Fla. grant of summary judgment of noninfringement on this issue, finding that the district court's claim construction improperly limited the term "pull cord."

  • Unified Patents ☛ Jeffrey Gross entity, Lattice Technologies, alarm monitoring patent monopoly challenged

    On March 6, 2025, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 8,098,153, owned and asserted by Lattice Technologies LLC, a Jeffrey Gross entity. The ‘153 patent monopoly relates to an emergency response system that cycles through contacts in an order of priority until reaching someone.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Dialect natural language patent monopoly found invalid

    On March 6, 2025, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) entered a notice of intent to issue a reexamination certificate canceling all original claims of U.S. Patent 9,495,957, owned and asserted by Dialect, LLC, an NPE. The ‘957 patent monopoly relates to natural language human machine interactions using context information.

  • JUVE ☛ Siemens appoints successor for Beat Weibel in global patent monopoly department [Ed: How is this news? Very clearly marketing placement or fluff; this publisher gets paid to lobby for illegal stuff and issues fake endorsement for litigation firms.]

    Meiko Stenger is a Siemens veteran.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Velos Media video codec patent monopoly challenge instituted

      On March 4, 2025, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,257,520, owned by Velos Media, an NPE. The '520 patent monopoly is generally directed to video coding and decoding processes for employing block rotation when transform skipping is enabled.

    • Unified Patents ☛ IdeaHub video codec patent monopoly challenge instituted

      On March 7, 2025, one month after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 10,904,539, owned by Ideahub Inc., an NPE. The ‘539 patent monopoly relates to video coding techniques that apply linear method (LM) prediction modes and particularly to the prediction of a chroma pixel value using a LM chroma mode or a low-pass-filtered LM chroma mode.